Becoming Minimalist’s Top Posts of 2016

Written byjoshua becker ·

A special thanks to each of you for making 2016 such an enjoyable and incredible year at Becoming Minimalist. This website continues to grow each month beyond my wildest expectations—in fact, this year represents the 8th consecutive year of consistent growth! As before, this growth has occurred entirely from the support of readers like you—thank you for helping to spread the inspiration.

Thank you for sharing this website. But even more, thank you for sharing the life-giving message of owning less.

But some of our most significant successes this past year are not found in the numbers above:

In late 2015, we created The Hope Effect, a non-profit designed to improve how the world cares for orphans. To date, we have raised over $300,000 for orphan care around the world including a home in Honduras and our next home to be built in San Luis, Mexico.

In January, we created a 12-week course called Uncluttered to help people own less, live more, and find the life they’ve always wanted. Over 10,000 people did the course in 2016. The next edition of Uncluttered begins on January 9 if you would like to join us.

In case you missed any, here are the top posts on Becoming Minimalist from 2016.

Most Popular Posts from 2016 (as determined by readers):

9 Simple Tips to Thin Out Your Closet.A streamlined wardrobe offers more benefits than simple beauty. It saves time in the morning (and sometimes, the evening). It reduces stress and frustration. And it saves money.

Most Popular Guest Posts in 2016:

The Art of Being Easily Fascinated by Joel Zaslofsky. If you’re like most people, you’ve never even heard the term “easily-fascinated,” much less considered how the approach to life might benefit you.

3 Steps to End Closet Chaos by Courtney Carver. If you can relate to a stressful closet scenario, or you are overwhelmed with closet chaos for other reasons, consider this three step process to end the chaos.

Whether you have been reading Becoming Minimalist for one week, one month, one year or longer, thank you. This blog owes its success to the support of its readers. Thank you for reading. And thank you for sharing these posts with others.

We look forward to an exciting 2017. I will be completing another book—this one on the subject of challenging the assumptions we make about money.

Also, as I mentioned,Uncluttered will be launched three times this year. The first edition of 2017 begins on January 9th. You can sign-up now to receive an email notification when we open registration on January 1st.

No doubt, in the coming year, Becoming Minimalist will continue to evolve and be redefined. But it will always stay true to its core message that there is more joy to be found in owning less than can be found in pursuing more.

We will continue to invite as many as possible to discover this truth in their lives. And I hope you will join us.

About Joshua Becker

Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.WSJ Bestselling author of The More of Less.

Comments

Thanks for your commitment to sharing this message in such a gracious way. I listened online to a talk you did about minimalism and spirituality and it spoke to me so profoundly. Keep spreading the message!

The most important thing I did in 2016 was to delete my Facebook account. After years of trying to figure out this “social experiment” since its inception, I have realized that Facebook is clutter for the mind.

Thank you Joshua! I’ve only discovered you and minimalist last month after feeling overwhelmed by my “stuff”. This is going to be a long process… but I know that I will be able to turn to you for continued support and inspiration! I even started donating to the Salvation Army, although a small amount now, I am hoping to increase it every year. Thank you for the inspiration! Wishing you a Blessed new year and continued success!

Thank you for your blog Joshua. You’ve really challenged some of my thinking about stuff and our lives. I just read your post about taking action on the things we say we want. More inspiration for 2017 to put my desires into action. Thank you again – keep up the good work.

After just one friend’s share of an article last year, your page’s got a preferential star in my newsfeed updates! Your advocacy is both an epiphany and a catalyst for an idea the time of which has come.

By osmosis I reckon, I imbibed my parents’ “organized hoarding” and “waste not, want not” outlook. Transferring to a house equal merely to a fourth of my parents’, I knew downloading was the only way to go with downsizing. It was somewhat handwringing and teeth grinding at first. These days, it’s either, “when it doubt, leave it out” or “don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Congratulations on a great year of spreading the joy of minimalism! I’m discovering it as well for me and my family. It’s a slow process but we’re making steady progress! Thanks for the continued inspiration!

Thank you for all that you have given us this year. I am so glad that Maybe Success Just Feels Like This was one of your favourite posts of the year. It is this authenticity that I enjoy in everything that you do. For me personal, it was so validating to read about how someone that I look up to struggles with similar doubts. Looks forward to reading a lot more in 2017.

I love your blog! I must say that I read the written stuff and don’t listen to the video stuff, so I’m sure I miss good content, but your wisdom is profound and you inspire me every day. I look at things very differently now, though I am hardly complete with my minimization yet. Thank you!

I think that your success came from the fact that you are not just here to create a website but to share a meaningful message with the world. And people can see that. More power to your blog Joshua and many more successful years to come.

I just enjoy the heck out of this blog. Looking forward to a brand new year of terrific posts. Once in awhile, they are so inspiring that I just have to curate your posts for my own blog — with proper credit and backlinks, of course.